Research Lead: Civic participation and digital inclusion, Responsible Innovation Centre, BBC R&D Research Lead: Civic participation and digital inclusion, Responsible Innovation Centre, BBC R&D

Title: Research Lead: Civic participation and digital inclusion, Responsible Innovation Centre, BBC R&D The Responsible Innovation Centre (RIC) is a new independent research centre hosted in BBC Research and Development. It is funded by UKRI, a non-governmental public body that directs UK research and innovation funding. RIC delivers research to generate timely evidence and critical insights on the social, editorial and ethical challenges technology raises for public media, people and society. If you enjoy helping to successfully get new initiatives off the ground and have a passion for ensuring technology works for everyone, we want to hear from you., As a Responsible Innovation Centre (RIC) Research Lead in civic participation and digital inclusion, you will be responsible for providing in-depth research and knowledge into the potential for new technologies to support or hinder civic participation and digital inclusion, as part of RIC's strategic goals. A research lead in RIC is responsible for leading and conducting research activities in their specialist area, identifying and responding to complex socio-technical problems. The post holder is required to work with RIC to carry out ground-breaking and academically rigorous research in key challenge areas to help build a desirable and resilient public media future in the face of rapid technological change. Our research seeks to help the BBC - and wider public media - innovate responsibly and contribute to wider technology development, policy and standards. Collaboration with the BBC and RIC's expert partner network is required in order to achieve these goals. The Responsible Innovation Centre (RIC) is a new independent research centre hosted at the BBC. It is funded by UKRI, a non-governmental public body that directs UK research and innovation funding. RIC delivers research to generate timely evidence and critical insights on the social, editorial and ethical challenges technology raises for public media, people and society. Located in BBC R&D and working with the BBC and 12 world-leading partner organisations whose work advances technology in the public interest, RIC produces scholarship and resources to help ensure a strong and resilient public service media sector now and in the future. RIC is led by BBC Research & Development's (R&D) Dr Rhianne Jones and is funded by a £1.9 million Future Leaders Fellowship grant, which enables emerging research leaders to work with their institutions to deliver world-class research and innovation. Working collaboratively with internal and external experts and members of the public, our work seeks to advance responsible and distinctly public service-oriented approaches to technology - to support a healthy future digital UK society. Our independence as a research centre means we can undertake research into fundamental, longer-terms questions, challenges and opportunities technology presents in public service media contexts. This benefits the BBC as host and provides a critical resource for public service media organisations around the world. When you join you will be joining a new team and will play an important role in helping establish our research agenda. You will be part of a small team of highly passionate and motivated researchers who care about ensuring that technology works for public media, people and society. You will work closely with the research operations team and wider research team to have a direct impact on the work and success of the centre, helping the BBC and public media organisations around the world navigate important challenges. As a member of the team you will be supported to develop yourself and learn new skills and will have the opportunity to build interdisciplinary networks inside and outside the BBC. We offer a warm, flexible and inclusive culture that supports people in the team to grow and thrive. We want our team members to share our passion for the work and from knowing that what they are doing is making a difference and enhancing people's livesInterview process If shortlisted, you will be offered an informal chat with the RIC director, followed by an online interview lasting between 60-90 mins, where you will be asked to prepare a short presentation., As a research lead, you will be responsible for leading and conducting research activities in civic participation and digital inclusion. This could include, for example, how technologies can support civic, democratic or cultural participation in an online public media context, how to ensure people have the digital skills and literacies needed to make sense of media and flourish online, or how to design digital media spaces that are safe and inclusive for everyone. You will work with the RIC director to carry out expert consultations in your specialist area and ground-breaking and academically rigorous research to help build a desirable and resilient public media future in the face of rapid technological change.

• You will be responsible for horizon scanning and providing ongoing examination of developments in technology and society and/or the regulatory environment in order to scope and respond to opportunities, challenges and risks for BBC and wider public service media sector
• You will be responsible for shaping the design and delivery of core team project work and initiatives in your specialist area through timely, specialist insight and advice
• You will conduct high quality research to an academic standard to advise the BBC on emerging opportunities and challenges stemming from technology and produce research to inform responsible approaches to technology and innovation
• You will be produce key research briefing papers, industry reports and publish peer reviewed journal articles, book chapters etc.
• You will apply creative thinking, analysis and good judgement to propose innovative responses to socio-technical problems
• You will work with wider BBC teams (e.g. technology, strategy and policy) to translate research in ways that are usable
• You will provide advice and consultancy to help the BBC and its external partners make the best decisions within own field of expertise
• You will evaluate technology through a social, ethical and editorial lens to assess risks, opportunities and impact
• You will document research results for the BBC and external stakeholders - working with the RIC Communication & Engagement Lead to take a creative and user-centric approach to presenting and communicating research to maximise engagement and impact.
• You will use persuasion and facilitation skills to gain cooperation of groups across the BBC and externally and identify and advance collaborative projects
• You will help manage and review work by RIC affiliated researchers and represent RIC at events, conferences and forums in line with the BBC's expectations
• You will identify and act on opportunities for learning and development and stay at the forefront of relevant research, scientific and technology areas
• You will be an ambassador for RIC and Responsible Innovation and engage with the wider community of practice at all levels to support the RIC in delivering its goals
Are you the right candidate For this role we are looking for someone with a passion for research aimed at advancing public interest technology who is looking to make positive changes to support good digital futures. We are looking for someone who gets excited at the prospect of interdisciplinary work, wants to advance ways of working across academic and industry and has a strategic research (and research communication) mindset. We are focused on building a small, highly effective and supportive team and on hiring for potential so the main requirement for the position is a passionate, collaborative, people focused outlook.


• A PhD in a relevant social science or humanities based subject area (e.g. sociology, science and technology studies, social policy, socio-legal studies, social history, media and communication studies) (or demonstrable equivalent research experience)
• Strong experience, knowledge, and a proven record in research in one of the following areas (or a closely related field), civic participation, civic technologies, online safety, digital literacy, digital inclusion and experience of social science or humanities approaches to understanding technology and society
• A good understanding of the public service media context and one or more of the following: Responsible Research and Innovation, data ethics, mission driven innovation, value sensitive design.
• A record of demonstrating capability for original work and of originating and defining new areas of research, an enquiring mind and well-developed analytical and investigative skills, ability to keep up to date with research in field - including emerging trends and developments in relevant technologies
• Ability to make judgements necessary to choose the best research approach to address a knowledge gap or complex problem
• Experience of and skills in gathering and analysing data and evidence and reviewing, synthesising research and conducting research under research ethics, data management and safeguarding frameworks
• Ability to produce excellent peer-reviewed publications, evidence of prior publications/ industry reports or policy papers
• Experience presenting and communication in industry and academic events/contexts
• Ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary team and independently, ability to work to deadlines
• Ability to summarise and explain complex ideas to non-specialist audiences; presenting ideas in a variety of formats including written papers, reports and presentations
• Self-motivated with the initiative to carry out projects according to plan, and the ability to quickly adapt in a fast-changing environment
• Ability to rapidly acquire new knowledge and skills to engage with new technologies across multiple editorial and social contexts
• Good written and spoken communication skills, able to promote ideas by logical argument, capable of presenting results in a clear/effective manner.
• Time and resource management skills and ability to lead, motivate and direct others contributing to project work
• Able to travel in UK and internationally on RIC business as required
  
  The BBC is committed to redeploying employees seeking suitable alternative employment within the BBC for different reasons and they will be given priority consideration ahead of other applicants. Priority consideration means for those employees seeking redeployment their application will be considered alongside anyone else at risk of redundancy, prior to any individuals being considered who are not at risk.
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Excellent career progression - the BBC offers great opportunities for employees to seek new challenges and work in different areas of the organisation. Unrivalled training and development opportunities - our in-house Academy hosts a wide range of internal and external courses and certification. Benefits - We offer a negotiable salary package, a flexible 35-hour working week for work-life balance and 25 days annual leave with the option to buy an extra 5 days, a defined pension scheme and discounted dental, health care and gym. You can find out more about working at the BBC by selecting this link to our candidate pack.